The 20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement in Standard English

1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the
background of the concept.
The dog growls when he is angry. The dogs growl when they are angry.
2. Dont get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb they do not affect
agreement.
The dog! who is chewing on my jeans! is usually very good.
". #repositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.
The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.
$. %hen sentences start with &there' or &here!' the subject will always be placed after the
verb! so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.
There is a problem with the balance sheet.(ere are the papers you re)uested.
*. Subjects don+t always come before verbs in )uestions. ,ake sure you accurately identify
the subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use.
Does -efty usually eat grass. %here are the pieces of this pu//le.
0. 1f two subjects are joined by and! they typically re)uire a plural verb form.
The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon.
2. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and refer to the same person or thing.
3ed beans and rice is my mom+s favorite dish.
4. 1f the words each! every! or no come before the subject! the verb is singular.
5o smoking and drinking is allowed.6very man and woman is re)uired to check in.
7. 1f the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words or! nor! neither8nor!
either8or! and not only8but also the verb is singular.
9essica or :hristian is to blame for the accident.
1;. The only time when the object of the preposition factors into the decision of plural or
singular verb forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like some! half! none! more! all! etc.
are followed by a prepositional phrase. 1n these sentences! the object of the preposition
determines the form of the verb.
<ll of the chicken is gone.<ll of the chickens are gone.
11. The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement.
=our )uarts of oil was re)uired to get the car running.
12. 1f the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words or! nor! neither8nor!
either8or! and not only8but also! the verb is plural.
Dogs and cats are both available at the pound.
1". 1f one subject is singular and one plural and the words are connected by the words or! nor!
neither8nor! either8or! and not only8but also! you use the verb form of the subject that is
nearest the verb.
Do your sisters or your girlfriend want any pi//a.
1$. 1ndefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs.
6verybody wants to be loved.
1*. > 6?cept for the pronouns @few! many! several! bothA that always take the plural form.
=ew were left alive after the flood.
10. 1f two infinitives are separated by and they take the plural form of the verb.
To walk and to chew gum re)uire great skill.
12. %hen gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence they take the singular verb form of the
verb! but when they are linked by and they take the plural form.
Standing in the water was a bad idea.Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my
hobbies.
14. :ollective nouns like herd! senate! class! crowd! etc. usually take a singular verb form.
The herd is stampeding.
17. Titles of books! movies! novels! etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb.
The Burbs is a movie starring Tom (anks.
2;. =inal 3ule C 3emember! only the subject affects the verbD
:hallenges of Erammar 3ules
The problem with some grammar rules from the perspective of modern linguistics is that there
is not one absolute grammar in the 6nglish language. ,ost <merican native 6nglish speakers
e)uate standard 6nglish with being correct and any nonFstandard variation of 6nglish with
being incorrect.
1n reality! however! the concept of standard <merican 6nglish is really the privileging of a
particular dialect of 6nglish that originates from the Ghio 3iver Halley. This is the dialect of
6nglish that the anchors of the nightly news speak and that we base our notions of correct and
incorrect grammar on. 1t is important to recogni/e that no grammar is any more correct or
incorrect than any other on a functional level! and our notions of correct and incorrect are
culturally constructed.
Anyone, everyone, someone, no one, and nobody always reuire singular verbs!
"either and either reuire singular verbs even though they seem to be referring to two
se#arate things!
Sums of money or #eriods of time reuire a singular verb!
$hen a sentence com#ounds a #ositive and a negative subject and only one is #lural, the
verb should agree with the #ositive subject!
$ords that indicate #ortions of a whole, such as #ercent, fraction, some, all, none, and
remainder reuire a singular verb only if the object of the #re#osition is singular!
$ho, that, and which are singular or #lural according to the noun directly in front of
them!
Ty#ically, you should use a #lural verb with two or more subjects when they are
connected by and!
There and here are never considered to be subjects! %n sentences beginning with here or
there, the subject follows the verb!
As well as and along with do not function the same as and! The #hrase introduced by as
well as or along with modifies the earlier word, but does not com#ound the subjects!
%f a sentence includes modifiers between the subject and verb, this does not affect
whether the verb is singular or #lural!
&ust because a word ends in 's does not automatically ma(e it #lural! )onsider the word
is as an e*am#le of this rule!
A collective noun such as team or staff can be either singular or #lural de#ending u#on
the rest of the sentence!
As subjects, the following indefinite pronouns ALWAYS take singular verbs. Look
at them closely.